1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an underwater housing and an underwater taking camera in combination therewith, more particularly to an improvement of a watertight structure of an underwater housing enclosing the camera.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
A lens-fitted film unit or single-use camera, known as "Quick Snap" (trademark; manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.), is preloaded with photographic film before a user purchases it. After all the frames are exposed, the film unit is forwarded to a photo laboratory in a condition wherein the film unit contains the exposed film. In the photo laboratory the photographic film is taken out of the film unit and subjected to photofinishing. Such convenience and simplicity in use is a characteristic feature of the film unit, which is sold commercially on a large scale. The film is contained in a photo-taking body of the film unit incorporating a simple mechanism for taking photographs. The photo-taking body is packaged in a carton or cardboard pack. When the exposed film is removed in the photo laboratory, the carton is partly broken and the body is partly disassembled or broken.
There has been proposed an underwater type of lens-fitted film unit such as "Weekend 35" (trademark; sold by Eastman Kodak Co.) in which the film unit is enclosed in a transparent plastic underwater housing in order to take photographs at a depth of up to 2 to 3 meters underwater, or in other moist environment. This underwater housing is constituted of a box-shaped housing body and a lid, both of which are molded from plastic. After inserting the film unit in the housing body, the lid is firmly welded to the housing body to keep the film unit watertight.
When the film unit is removed from the housing body in the photo laboratory in order to develop the exposed film, however, it is necessary to remove the lid forcibly from the housing body or to break the housing body. The attachment between the lid and the housing body is strong enough to keep the unit watertight, so that the lid cannot be removed easily. The housing body is strong enough to resist even a considerable force applied externally thereto, so that the housing body cannot be broken with ease. The operation of taking the film unit out of the underwater housing is thus laborious. A photofinisher might accidentally break the housing manually into pieces, which might injure him or her.
The lid could be connected to the housing body via a hinge mechanism in order to simplify the removal of the film unit from the underwater housing. There could be, in this case, an arrangement of rubber members e.g. O-rings between the edges of the lid and the housing body for keeping the film unit watertight. This structure, however, is complicated and costly, and so is inconsistent with the provision of an underwater housing which is inexpensive, in keeping with the inexpensive film unit housed therein.